Tactical Shotgun Stock Preferences/Showdown

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TheMediator

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Howdy y'all.

I am in the midst of building another Remington 870 because as of May this year building AR15's is bad. I have typically stuck with standard stock sets with preference for old wood with the corn cob forend or the really cheapy plastic pistol grips because I want to be tacticool. This time I would like to deviate from my typical script.

I am dubbing this project 'Hobo Tactical'. I am well below retail on this build and figure I can splurge a little and get a nice stock for a real frankengun. Its comprised of an old Express Magnum receiver I got for a song off a friend, a mixture of DA Grizzly and Wingmaster internals that I either had sitting around or got on the extra extra cheap, and a DA Grizzly 12.5 inch barrel threaded for chokes. Yes each piece is pretty well a different colour, but I'll sort that out eventually.

I have narrowed it down to four options, I want to be THE MOST tactical pop can shooting, skeet smashing, pretend door breaching, steel slapping, 'you better not tread on me' son of a gun the back 40 has ever seen. Obviously the right stock will do this, my shooting ability has no bearing on the equation.

  1. Magpul SGA Stock Set
  2. Mesa Tactical Urbina Stock Set
  3. Hogue Overmolded Stock Set (14-inch LOP)
  4. Mesa Tactical LEO Adapter with an AR15 stock (I have oodles of those that recently become available)

Does anyone have any experience with any of these stocks or wise words of warning?

Disclaimer *** I'm 6'2 with the wingspan similar to something you'd hang your clothes up to dry on. I'm not law enforcement, military or a space force super commando and this isn't a home defense shotgun because that's illegal... If something didn't meet the 3 million rounds no malfunctions test your uncle Jim-bob came up with its not necessarily a deal-breaker.
In a perfect world I'd buy all four and try them out and just flip the three I didn't like but I don't make that kind of scatch. Also, my friends are poor and run factory furniture on all their guns so borrowing is also out of the question***
 
While I cannot personally spend money on something so ugly, the Magpul set are regarded as amazing by most everyone who buys them. Heavily adjustable in length of pull and comb height.
Those who like traditional look but also realize there's more tactical things in this world than wood tend to choose hogue. Grippy and light, you can set the length of pull once, like grandpa did.
I've gone with the AR15 furniture adapter on my 870 build for a few reasons; pistol grip offers maximum recoil management. Adjustable stock can be set quickly (though not perfectly) over many layers, I shoot in a t-shirt and I shoot in a parka. Overall length can be reduced by a few inches for transport. I also have a limbsaver pad for Magpul pattern stocks, pretty cushy.

I'm currently working on tactical wingmaster build, which I think will sport some textured wood furniture.
 
I gravitate to the tactical shotgun more than a traditional, at least in the barrel length and simplicity of a pump gun. On an 870 I generally like a standard buttstock with a police forend, it’s simple and utilitarian and they fit me well.

That said I also like the Mesa leo M4 buttstock, it’s well built and quick to adjust lop. The one thing you’ll find with the leo stock and a 12.5” barrel is its tough to get your eye/face down low enough on the receiver if you’re using a bead sight. The shorter barrel needs a raised front sight post or ramped front sight to get both a good sight picture and bring your poi down to match your point of aim. With a 12.5” barrel and a bead sight you’ll be shooting a foot high at 15-20yds, especially with slugs. If you’re using a grizzly barrel from a ghost ring version you’ll be better off from the get go.
 
TheMediator said:
I have narrowed it down to four options, I want to be THE MOST tactical pop can shooting, skeet smashing, pretend door breaching, steel slapping, 'you better not tread on me' son of a gun the back 40 has ever seen. Obviously the right stock will do this, my shooting ability has no bearing on the equation.

  1. Magpul SGA Stock Set
  2. Mesa Tactical Urbina Stock Set
  3. Hogue Overmolded Stock Set (14-inch LOP)
  4. Mesa Tactical LEO Adapter with an AR15 stock (I have oodles of those that recently become available)

Does anyone have any experience with any of these stocks or wise words of warning?
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I have both the Magpul SGA and the Mesa Tactical LEO mounted on 870p receivers with 14" Remington police mod choke barrels and the low profile sights.

I built the Mesa version first, and it has the recoil reducer. No complaints. The combo of recoil reducer and pistol grip means any recoil sharpness is just a push. Very newbie friendly kick-wise. I added a Surefire forend and a Mesa sidesaddle. All very tacticool and very much a "black gun."

After having it a bit I started thinking it was a bit too tacticool, especially given our current environment. The brainwashing is very effective. :)

The second 870 with the Magpul SGA is my compromise. I tried the Magpul forend but it seem way too bulky and likely to hang up on something. The Hogue forend on it now works perfectly and my hands "stick" to it way better than the plastic Magpul. My conclusion on the SGA is that while it seems very expensive for what is essentially a piece of plastic it is just about perfect. No protruding pistol grip to hang up on something yet the rear hand grip angle functions almost pistol-grip-like. My <100 lb 12 year old has no issue with slugs if that means anything.

And yet... I have a 870 Marine Magnum 18" that the last owner put traditional wood furniture on and Remington rifle sights. Literally every time I pick it up and look down the sights I ask myself why I have the other 870's. The classic setups are classic for a reason

For me, if it is a grab and go situation with the 870 it would by my SGA version. Just too slick and all function.

For going around corners or where I need light, the Mesa version gets the nod, but if light is not an issue the SGA version would be just as good. If by "THE MOST tactical..." you mean from the perspective of a tacticool lego-build like an AR then the Mesa version is head and shoulders better. :)

No issues with getting low enough behind the Mesa with my 14" barrel but I'm definitely not able to get any lower. I just measured and the SGA is very approximately 1/2 lower than the Mesa with a Magpul MOE (with the stock cheek riser). That alone might push me to the SGA for a 12.5 barrel. Too high is no bueno. :) I suspect Butcherbill is correct and the potential problem he identified may may make your decision much easier.

Since you reference "the back 40" I have to say I did find the front sight on the 14" barrel looked massive shooting at a 9" gong beyond 60 yards with slugs. I'm not an expert though and this isn't relevant to the stock.

Hope this helps.

Wetcoast
 
For me if it has a pistol grip it must also have a folding or collapsible stock for the added benefit of compactness.

Personally i shoot better with the standard stock so my vote goes to the hogue first then Magpul simply because I like the look less.
 
A lot of it depends how you mount and run the gun. If you run the gun 'conventionally' - high and on the strong side in the pocket, an SGA is hard to beat. If you run the gun low on the centre line an M4 adapter makes more sense. The Urbino has a short length of pull so it tends to work somewhere in between, not perfect for traditional shooters and not perfect for folks with the gun on the centreline due to the grip angle. The Urbino can slap you too. Just my .02.
 
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Cost wise , Magpul sga, great stock, lots of flexibility, easy of lop adjustment and sling attachment options, Magpul also make a separate pad adapter so you can use any Remington recoil pad, even those nice limbsaver ones .
Or Mesa LEO stock adapter, this set up could cost as much or more then your gun , but its very cool , high CDI points and soft recoil, with this set up , you'll "need" a crosshair recoil buffer, magpul CTR or moe stock and a limbsaver pad, they make one just for the magpul CTR/moe .

I run mossbergs , and with the mesa LEO, ghost ring sights or something higher than a bead are needed , on the Remmy, it might be different.

I couldn't decide, so I built both .

 
I have the Hogue overmolded stock on my 590. Nice stock, pretty comfortable and has a rubberised grippy texture. I haven't tried any of the others so I can't really give you a comparison but I don't have any complaints.
 
Thanks for all the positive replies and input so far!

Butcherbill said:
I gravitate to the tactical shotgun more than a traditional, at least in the barrel length and simplicity of a pump gun. On an 870 I generally like a standard buttstock with a police forend, it’s simple and utilitarian and they fit me well.

That said I also like the Mesa leo M4 buttstock, it’s well built and quick to adjust lop. The one thing you’ll find with the leo stock and a 12.5” barrel is its tough to get your eye/face down low enough on the receiver if you’re using a bead sight. The shorter barrel needs a raised front sight post or ramped front sight to get both a good sight picture and bring your poi down to match your point of aim. With a 12.5” barrel and a bead sight you’ll be shooting a foot high at 15-20yds, especially with slugs. If you’re using a grizzly barrel from a ghost ring version you’ll be better off from the get go.
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I'd like to think the 'standard' stocks do work extremely well for me. Mind you at this point I can't figure out if thats actually the case or I am just so used to shooting them I don't know what a good fit actually is :p

This barrel currently has no sights on it, I was going to just drill and tap a front sight on but that might need to change that plan... a foot high seems a bit much to just compensate by holding a low.

BullOnParade said:
While I cannot personally spend money on something so ugly, the Magpul set are regarded as amazing by most everyone who buys them. Heavily adjustable in length of pull and comb height.
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They really do look pretty fugly, but i'll be damned if they aren't popular and apparently effective.

08A42.0t said:
Please remove
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Might I inquire as to why?

WetCoast said:
The second 870 with the Magpul SGA is my compromise. I tried the Magpul forend but it seem way too bulky and likely to hang up on something. The Hogue forend on it now works perfectly and my hands "stick" to it way better than the plastic Magpul. My conclusion on the SGA is that while it seems very expensive for what is essentially a piece of plastic it is just about perfect. No protruding pistol grip to hang up on something yet the rear hand grip angle functions almost pistol-grip-like. My <100 lb 12 year old has no issue with slugs if that means anything.

And yet... I have a 870 Marine Magnum 18" that the last owner put traditional wood furniture on and Remington rifle sights. Literally every time I pick it up and look down the sights I ask myself why I have the other 870's. The classic setups are classic for a reason

Wetcoast
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I've gotten pretty acustomed to shooting all sorts of slugs with just plain jain wooden stocks or even with the dinky plastic pistol grip. I'm sure the SGA would feel like i'm shooting a marshmellow gun.

In regards to the classic set-ups with wood and rifle sights, they are too good. I pick up my super mag with wood and rifle sight and I too question why I would bother owning anything different. Can't think like that though or I'm going to suddenly realize how pointless most of my collection is and have an existential crisis.

Gao said:
For me if it has a pistol grip it must also have a folding or collapsible stock for the added benefit of compactness.

Personally i shoot better with the standard stock so my vote goes to the hogue first then Magpul simply because I like the look less.
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The hogue does look the closest the the grandpa style stock just with a modern texture.

enefgee said:
A lot of it depends how you mount and run the gun. If you run the gun 'conventionally' - high and on the strong side in the pocket, an SGA is hard to beat. If you run the gun low on the centre line an M4 adapter makes more sense. The Urbino has a short length of pull so it tends to work somewhere in between, not perfect for traditional shooters and not perfect for folks with the gun on the centreline due to the grip angle. The Urbino can slap you too. Just my .02.
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As of right now, I'd say my scattergun running is 80/20 on the 'traditional vs squared up' as far as posture goes. Given your rational would that put me more in the SGA spectrum or am I entering Urbino territory?

Greenhorse six said:
Or Mesa LEO stock adapter, this set up could cost as much or more then your gun , but its very cool , high CDI points and soft recoil, with this set up , you'll "need" a crosshair recoil buffer, magpul CTR or moe stock and a limbsaver pad, they make one just for the magpul CTR/moe .

I run mossbergs , and with the mesa LEO, ghost ring sights or something higher than a bead are needed , on the Remmy, it might be different.

I couldn't decide, so I built both .

Click to expand...

Firstly, very pretty shotguns. I am glad you built both! Secondly, any reason why I would need a crosshair recoil buffer? Is the recoil in the LEO Adapter less than savoury without one?
 
TheMediator said:
This barrel currently has no sights on it, I was going to just drill and tap a front sight on but that might need to change that plan... a foot high seems a bit much to just compensate by holding a low.
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With a traditional buttstock it’s less of an issue as the drop of the stock gets your eye lower down behind the receiver but you will still have a higher poi with a shorter 12.5” barrel, the taller front sights or even an xs sight big dot will help bring it down. The leo adaptor makes the buffer tube and stock sit higher and flatter than normal, I ended up adding reg height rifle sights to my 14” barrel to make it work with the Mesa setup. Other than that I like it a lot, I used it for shooting grouse a couple years ago. It worked great.
 
I had an AR style stock on a shotgun a few years ago and found the recol to be terrible. So switched back to the factory synthetic with sims pad and found it to much better. I have tried the magpul sgs stock and found it to be very pleasant. Its adjustabe just about any way you want too. I may be an outlier as I really dont like pistol grip type stock on anything really. I will say that toting the gun around with one is a lot easier but just cant get used to the vertical grip.
 
My SGA just came in this week and I finally had a chance to put it on my 1301 last night. Great little stock. I prefer it over a pistol grip like some of the Mesa offerings as it feels more natural, plus it has the different riser and sling options. To each his own though.


 
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Not so much a "need" , just makes it easier to shoot more , the recoil impulse with the Mesa is straight inline, much like a AR , and any AR stock that you'll use has a angled butt , so , most of the recoil well be at the heel, not to mention most AR stocks have a narrower footprint than a standard shotgun stock, so the impact is over a smaller area and will be a little stronger.
Kind of , but not entirely, like shooting a Lee Enfield no5 with the very small hard rubber kick pad compared to a No4 with a wider area brass plate , narrow =concentrated recoil.

In a nutshell , anything that will dampen recoil, is a good thing.
Just my thoughts on this.

TheMediator said:
Firstly, very pretty shotguns. I am glad you built both! Secondly, any reason why I would need a crosshair recoil buffer? Is the recoil in the LEO Adapter less than savoury without one?
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Have tried most of them and the ugly Magpul is my favourite. It fits the hand quite similar to a pistol grip without digging into the top part of your hand where your thumb meets the hand. Not a big deal for a few rounds, but after a few hundred you really appreciate it. Their foregrip has a really slim profile, still good grip when wet and I have found it is the best for when you need to rip it out of a scabbard really quick.
 
Ive had both Houge and Magpul and I vastly prefer the magpul.
If you will be carrying in a backpack or a scabbard the houge is a pain to get in and out as it grips the fabric.
 
Greenhorse six said:
the impact is over a smaller area and will be a little stronger.
Kind of , but not entirely, like shooting a Lee Enfield no5 with the very small hard rubber kick pad compared to a No4 with a wider area brass plate , narrow =concentrated recoil.
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I felt the recoil of a No. 5 reading this.

and that makes sense, I know some AR stock sets have the option for an upgraded rubber pad which I previously thought would be pretty useless given how little recoil AR's typically have. This gives some food for thought, if I go this route I'm going to do some looking around for a somewhat girthy AR stock or find ones that have the optional rubber pad.
 
TheMediator said:
I felt the recoil of a No. 5 reading this.

and that makes sense, I know some AR stock sets have the option for an upgraded rubber pad which I previously thought would be pretty useless given how little recoil AR's typically have. This gives some food for thought, if I go this route I'm going to do some looking around for a somewhat girthy AR stock or find ones that have the optional rubber pad.
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For what it’s worth as some people find recoil worse than others but I’ve never found the ar stock to be bad. That was until I shot a couple boxes of 3” 12g sabots, I bought a limbsaver for the stock my Mesa kit came with. It really takes the bite out of magnum loads, standard 2 3/4” buckshot and slugs are like birdshot now.
 
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